Study reveals 10% pay gap between men and women in IT

Results from a study by the Australian Computer Society released today reveal that almost a third of ICT job seekers believe they have been discriminated against, based on gender, age, ethnicity or other factors, when applying for positions in the sector. An ACS salary survey also found that men working in the sector were on average earned 9.8 per cent more than women.

According to the study, although women enter the industry with comparative or slightly better salaries, within three to five years men have a salary that is on average 5 per cent higher than women.

The 2012 ACS Employment survey, which gathered responses from 2250 ICT professionals, found that more women than men are likely to be employed on a part-time bases.

ACS president Nick Tate said that although Australian industries all suffer from gender pay inequality, "few are in as much need as ICT to tackle it head on".

Close to half — 46.8 per cent — of the women surveyed indicated they felt they had experienced discrimination when applying for an ICT job, based on gender, age, ethnicity or other factors.

This contrasted with 70.6 per cent of the men who were surveyed who indicated they hadn't faced any discrimination when applying for jobs. Over 17 per cent of women said they had faced discrimination based on gender, compared to 10.2 per cent of women who faced discrimination based on age and 6.8 per cent based on ethnicity.

The ACS study also found that 35 per cent of those surveyed, both men and women, who were 55 years old or older felt they had experienced discrimination based on age.

Copyright 2010 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.